It's disappointing but not surprising that the LNP's Bundaberg-based Minister for Northern Australia hasn't done his homework on North Queensland. His ignorance was laid bare in bizarre media comments on July 9 claiming: "Labor doesn't have a senator based north of Brisbane's CBD."

I live in Cairns with my family, and I'm very lucky to represent this beautiful region. If he could find a map and figure out where Cairns was located, he would know the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility headquarters is based here.

His lack of attention to detail explains why only $2 million of the $5 billion allocated to NAIF has rolled out in North Queensland in five years. It could also explain his failure to implement ACCC recommendations to fix the insurance crisis facing Northern Australia.

Figures released today show 3019 businesses and 11 ,473 workers in the electorate of Hinkler will be affected if JobKeeper is cancelled too early. It would be a good start if Mr Pitt concentrated on the workers and businesses in his electorate screaming out for certainty.

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